Re: [Paddlewise] Rusting roofrack bars

> Erik Sprenne wrote:
> > The crossbars I currently have on the
> > racks are somewhat rusted in several spots, but I've
> > fashioned oak dowels to fit *inside* the Yakima
crossbars to
> > extend their life (and have new bars in the basement for
the
> > time when the current bars finally fail).
>
Chuck Holst replied:
> Something I've done to extend the life of Yakima bars is
to put a cotton
> ball inside each end and then pour Shoe Goo or equivalent
on top to form a
> plug. Also, painting any bare steel will help to delay the
onset of rust.
>

I've also tried pouring a little bit of liquid anti-rust
compound (some sort of organic amine compound) inside the
bars, and then taping the plasitc caps on the ends of the
bars with stretched black electrical tape.  This prevents
the the cancerous rust from getting a foothold on the inside
surfaces of the bars, and ensures that the end caps will
still be on the bars after the first 2-3 boating trips :-)

In my experience, it's rust that usually does the bars in.
One friend went to a steel supply house and purchased
*thick*-walled uncoated steel tubes of the same diameter as
the Yakima bars, and is happy to let the bars rust away.
With the added thickness of the steel, it will be decades
before those bars rust through (the steel is also different,
as the rust has formed a fine-grained surface coat that
doesn't peel off).

It's also a good idea to periodically take apart the towers,
clean all the threads and pivot points and reassemble -
especially if racks are kept on the vehicle and exposed to
salt spray.  I've had towers that were rusted into a solid
mass and couldn't be taken off a car without destroying the
clips.  And even then, new clips could not be installed as
the adjusting screw was rusted in place.

Play Hard,
Erik Sprenne

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